


spin the bottle

by Lee_Mix



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 07:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5239706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lee_Mix/pseuds/Lee_Mix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ah, come on now, Mari.” He kicked back and put on his cap, glancing at her with one eye open. “We’re all young, good-looking teenagers that are just friends with each other. Nothing wrong with puckering up a little, is there?” - During a storm, Marinette finds herself in a slight predicament when Nino suggests that, along with Alya and Adrien, they play "spin the bottle" to pass the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	spin the bottle

“Sorry, guys, I’m still not getting any signal. Anyone else?”

“Adrien, if  _your_ phone isn’t getting any signal, I doubt anyone else’s will be.”

Marinette sighed as her friends clustered into the centre of the bakery, before taking one last look outside.

Leaves and old newspapers became battered by the wind, slamming into streetlights and chairs. Potted plants were thrown askew, and some soil had completely covered a red car’s windshield. Lights were flickering from the storm, the wind scraping it’s fingers against the glass and screaming to be let in, and the stars in the sky were virtually non-existent. 

Marinette sighed as she closed the shutters and locked up the windows, before making her way to where her friends had seated themselves.

On a whim, the four of them–she, Nino, Alya, and Adrien–had gone out in the mildly turbulent weather to take some photographs for their Geographical project on the consequences of climate change. To be more “authentic”, Nino had suggested. 

By the time they had taken even six photographs, the storm had picked up, and the four had taken refuge in the now-empty Cheng-Dupain bakery. She had tried to patch a call to her parents (who were currently out on the other side of the city, working out a deal for their catering business they had on the side), but to no avail. Everytime she tried, the lines were completely dead.

It didn’t help that Alya was curled up in a chair, her limbs shaking like the leaves outside.

“If the storm doesn’t settle in a few hours, you’re all welcome to stay here until the morning. My parents won’t mind.” Marinette knelt down by Alya and put a hand on her shoulder. “Alya? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“H-Huh?” Alya could barely lift her head to meet Marinette’s gaze, and shrugged.  “I... J-Just… do something to keep me distracted. Please.”

“You’re afraid of storms?” 

Alya’s face hardened. “Sh-shut up. W-We all have o-our–!”

A crack of thunder in the sky had her trembling like a puppy in Marinette’s arms.

Marinette smiled sheepishly over at Nino. “Alya’s never liked storms. If we could just change the subject, please?”

“Would this help?”

“What?”

Adrien had pulled out a small, portable speaker. “My phone doesn’t have too much battery life left on it, but it should last around an hour or so. It could drown out the sound of the storm?”

Even in spite of her friend’s fear, Marinette couldn’t help but find admiration for the boy who had captured her rose-tinted interest. (Part of her interest, anyway.)

“Yeah,” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief and stood up (not before covering Alya’s shoulders with her jacket). “I’ll be back with you all in a second, I’m just going to find some candles.”

Within the space of twenty minutes, they had turned the shop floor of the bakery into their own personal bunker from the storm. Tables and chairs had been taken from their usual order, to be aligned into a circle, dotted with faint candlelight. Marinette had grabbed a few pillows and blankets from the guest-room cupboard to serve as a comforter, and the crackle from Adrien’s speakers played a few quiet tunes (mainly guitar-based music. Another usual tidbit).

By the time it had all been set up, Alya had managed to calm herself down somewhat.

Marinette wasn’t sure  _what_ had caused Alya’s fear of storms. She could cling onto her favourite superhero with ease, report and blog about dangerous activities on the Parisian vigilantes, and even go toe-to-toe with Chloe and her overwhelming elitist attitude. Yet the mere whisper of a storm had her quaking in her boots and cowering to the floor in fear.

Still, Marinette never asked. She reasoned that, if Alya wanted to tell her, she would. There wasn’t much point trying to push the knife in further in the hopes it would heal when it came out the other side, and some things couldn’t be coaxed out with gentle words alone. Time needed to be on her side.

Still, she was glad Alya sought  _some_ comfort in her, as she leant her head against her shoulder and gripped her arm. 

Adrien adjusted the speakers and turned to face her shivering friend. “Are you feeling alright now?”

Alya gulped and gave a small nod. “The… the fear comes and goes, depending on the distractions. This helps, though. Thank-you. I’d just appreciate if we didn’t talk about it?”

“Of course.” He went back to sit by Nino, back to back as the latter fiddled with his headphones. 

“Well, I don’t know about  _you_ three,” Nino’s sudden addition to the conversation surprised Marinette with a jolt, as he put his arms behind his head and grinned. “But if we’re going to be stuck here for the next few hours, then I’d like it if we  _didn’t_ die of boredom. Mari, you got any games?”

“Mari…?” Her brow raised at the nickname but shook her head. “But no, not really. We only have online ones. My Dad  _does_ have a chess set, but it’s… he’s weirdly possessive of it. I’m not going to chance it.”

Nino laughed. “Not even when he’s not here?”

“I don’t even think  _Ladybug_ would have the courage to face him.”

Adrien cast his glance over to her and furrowed his brows. The expression he wore slid off his face as quickly as it came, and he shook his head. Probably nothing.

“Well,” Nino cupped his chin, wracking his brain for a thought. “I suppose we could just play a game to pass the time. Maybe…”

Nino met her gaze. A slow, cocky smirk curved his lips. 

“How about spin the bottle?”

Marinette froze in her seat.

“I, uh,” she barely contained a shriek. “Wh-why would you want to play  _that?_ Why not… truth or dare?”

“Ah, come on now, Mari.” Nino kicked back and put on his cap, glancing at her with one eye open. “We’re all young, good-looking teens that are just  _friends_ with each other. Nothing wrong with puckering up a little, is there?”

Alya could barely contain a laugh. Adrien, bless the boy, just looked lost.

“I mean, after all, it’s not like–”

For a moment, she borrowed her loveable street rogues moves and  _pounced_ over toward Nino, hand clamped over his mouth and knocking the two over.

She hauled him up with her and, and let out a strained laugh. “No, we  _don’t_ have a bottle for it! How silly of me, Nino, and  _thank you_ for reminding me! Shall we go and search for one together like the  _good friends that we are?”_

Her exaggerated laughter filled the entire room as she dragged Nino to the kitchen.

If she had to deprive him of oxygen for a few seconds longer, then he would just have to deal with it.

* * *

As if channeling her vigilante incognito’s energy earlier hadn’t been embarrassing enough, Marinette was certainshe’d temporarily inherited his bad luck as well. 

If she were as lucky as Ladybug, then this entire ordeal wouldn’t have even cropped up at all. Truthfully, she didn’t  _want_ to have her first kiss with Adrien be a part of a game in a candlelit bakery with  _two_ of her best friends watching. But even still, the fact that  _all_ of her kisses had been with  _Nino_ of all peoplehad been… disheartening. 

“Alright, Marinette, can we make your go the last one?” Alya rubbed her eyes. “Not that this hasn’t been fun, but I’m  _tired._ ”

 _I’d rather you be tired than afraid._ “Alright. I’m getting a little sleepy myself.”

She reached in the middle of the circle, hand hovering over the green bottle, before spinning it. The blur of the bottle almost reminded her of the baton that Chat carried… and it then occurred to her how much she’d been thinking of Chat that night. 

 _Lucky._ She thought faintly.

“Oh, Adrien! You’d best pucker up!”

Marinette snapped out of her thoughts, to see a rather flustered grin on Adrien’s face. If she could capture  _any_ moment with a faded gradient pencil sketch and hang it up in a gallery…

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, I didn’t know you missed  _my_ kisses that much, Mari.” Nino wiggled his eyebrows at her. “But I think Mr Agreste here deserves your full attention, wouldn’t you say?”

Adrien groaned. “Nino, don’t make fun of her. You know she’s shy.” He paused, and then added, “and don'tcall me that, please. It makes me sound as old as my  _Dad._ ”

“Apologies, sir.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“You love it really.”

Marinette felt like melting into the floor with how hot her face had gotten. Perhaps if she shrugged everything off and took a nice, long walk in the freezing gales outside she would shake off this mortifying embarrassment. 

A small whimper came from her pouted lips, and she covered her face with her hands. Nino’s teasing and Alya’s knowing smile did  _not_ help.

“Marinette, are you okay? If… if you’re not comfortable with this, it  _is_ just a game. You don’t have to force yourself.”

_Play it safe, play it safe, play it safe…_

“I…” Sandpaper. Her mouth felt like it had been washed out by sandpaper. No words would come out. “I-I…”

Marinette jolted when she felt someone pat her head, and she peeked through her fingers. Adrien gave her a warm smile, ruffling through her loose hair.

“It’s alright. I think everyone is getting tired, anyway. You said it would be alright for us to stay here during the storm?”

“Y-Yeah.”  _It’s now, now of all times, that you manage to find your voice?_ “W-We can just go upstairs and bunk in the main sitting room. There’s more room there for all of us a-and… if my parents come back, they won’t just think three random kids broke in to sleep there.”

That earned a laugh, one that vibrated warmth from his very chest. It made her heart  _scream._ “Fair enough.”

Marinette tried to ignore the pitying look on Alya’s face as the four silently made their way up the stairs.

 

* * *

 

From the sounds coming from her small living room, one may have the fair assumption that the storm had seeped in through the  _walls._

Nino had claimed one side of the reclining sofa, draped over with the blanket dangling off his knees. Alya had curled up in the corner, underneath the breakfast table, to “get away from the noise”. Whether she was talking about Nino’s snoring or the storm, Marinette guessed she would never really know.

She blinked in the lack of light, trying to make creatures from the shadows on the walls. They danced to the song of the storm, moved to the beat of the drumming rain, getting lost within the cracks of lightning that streaked across the sky. 

She had always loved storms. Though Alya may protest, there was a wild, electric energy in the air that seemed to cleanse any negative vibes that lingered. In the midst of the storm, Marinette felt she could _breath_ better. Even as Ladybug.

Marinette sighed, before settling into the other side of the recliner. She closed her eyes, trying her best to get comfortable–

_“Ouch!”_

_–_ when several metallic objects seemed to clash to the floor in the kitchen, along with a small yelp of distress.

Striking a match, she lit the small candle next to the chair and lit up the room with tired eyes, somewhat surprised at what she saw.

“Adrien? What…” She barely held in a yawn. “What are you doing?”

The boy looked  _embarrassed_ to have been caught in such a state. A few pots and pans lay scattered on the floor, and his hair was sticking up at odd angles. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m… sorry.” He groaned. “I was just… I just wanted a glass of water, but I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

Marinette smiled to herself in amusement, before opening the door to the fridge. “We have bottled. Is that alright?”

He nodded, and she tossed him a partially-consumed bottle. 

Marinette pulled out a seat from the miniature breakfast bar and took a glance outside the window. The storm still raged on outside, streaks of blue lightning making the skies shake in its adrenaline.

“Quite the sight, no?” Adrien leant against the wall, arms folded, and gave her a lazy smile. “I’ve always loved storms. I take it Alya never has, though.”

Marinette sighed. “She… she’s never told me much. Only that she never goes near beaches when it’s stormy. Never specifics, but it’s… enough, you know?”

“We all have fears.” He concluded with a faint nod. “Some more than others, but we do.”

“Mm.” She hummed, not sure what else to add.

Adrien did, however. “Is this going to last in school?”

“Huh?”

“You not getting embarrassed or stuttering when talking to me. Will this last in school, or is tonight just an exception?”

A red flush came to her face in an instant. “Uh…”

“Well, I suppose that answers one question.”

“No!” She flushed at her outburst and tried again. “It’s not… I-I mean, I would  _like_ to be able to talk to you better. Tonight just had another priority over me being painfully awkward.”

“Alya?”

“Yeah. Well, there was that, but I also wanted to make sure that everyone was alright tonight. Getting stuck somewhere in a storm, even with friends around you, isn’t always as fun as people make it out to be.” 

She ached to know the thoughts in his head as he gazed at her with quiet contemplation, and she fiddled with her hands in her lap as he did so. 

“You’re very kind, Marinette.”

 _I wasn’t expecting that._ Still, she merely gave a bashful smile, glancing at the hands in her lap. “…Thank-you. You are, too.”

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay?”

“Forgive me if I don’t have great tact in approaching this, but… earlier, when we were playing Spin the Bottle, I noticed something. I’ve heard Chloe poke fun at it before, and I’ve just been… wondering something for a while now. Do you…” 

A small blush rose to his face. “Do you have a crush on… me?”

_God, I’ve been nice. Now use that thunder to strike me down._

Her mouth hung open, and she was sure that a fly could make an entire colony there and she wouldn’t care. He was staring at her– _staring at her–_ with expectation in his eyes. 

What could she say that wouldn’t want to make her run out into that storm even  _more?_ And Chloe had been making  _fun_ of her crush? Typical. Absolutely typical of her. If Chat were here…

Oh, she didn’t even want to  _think_ about what Chat would say.

“G-Good night.”

Refuse to speak, and retreat. Best tactic ever. All she had to do was make it to the door and everything would go back to normal and–

“Mari, wait.”

–he grabbed her wrist and, obviously, possessed some sort of weird Agreste magic passed down from the family bloodline that made her  _not able to move a single muscle._ That had to be it. There was no way his words alone would make her stop.

She didn’t  _dare_ to turn around.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to embarrass… agh, this is why Nino says I’m no good at this. I don’t think I was making myself clear.”

He walked around and knelt down in front of her, holding her shoulders gently. That wasn’t fair. He had just asked a horrible,  _horrible_ question. He wasn’t allowed to be so kind, so warm, and so damn _gentlemanly._

“I just noticed how Nino and Alya were teasing you earlier. I wasn’t sure if you  _did_ until then, and… I just wanted to ask if you were alright.”

Marinette stiffened. “I-I’m fine.” She blinked away tears of mortification. 

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean to make you  _cry!_ Agh… I'm so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked like that. I wasn't trying to make you embarrassed.” He grabbed a tissue from the packet tucked away inside of his top pocket and wiped under her eyes, and his warm fingers making the blush on her face deeper. “I didn’t want Chloe to go around spreading rumours about you. I didn’t think it would be…”

“True?”

“Well… yes.”

“You think I would fake it?”

Somehow, she was trusting her own voice again.

“A few people have, in the past.” He admitted, his voice quiet. “I  _know_ you’re not like that, believe me, but honestly? Lately is the first time I feel like I’ve been with friends that actually  _like_ me. Not just for who my father is. I know, the poor little rich kid is lonely is pretty cliched, but…”

A slow chuckle came to his lips. It sounded so  _bitter,_ like his heart was spinning on a knife’s edge. “I didn’t want anything to jeopardize it.”

She felt her blood run cold. “Would  _having_ a crush on you ruin it?”

“What? No!” He covered his mouth, flushing. “More like the rumours that would go along with it. I know Chloe can get pretty nasty. She’s my friend, but she can be  _very_ overbearing. I didn’t… want  _you_ to be driven away. I just don’t want to lose anyone else.”

The way he hunched down, his hand over his mouth and glancing away, reminded her of a young boy, flustered over a mistake. It was only as of late she was discovering the ideal she had built behind Adrien was little more than bricks holding up a flawed structure.

He rarely had social tact for intimate matters. He could make mistakes, get too carried away, and had a flair for being  _too_ polite and anxious. 

But… he still put others first. He was still kind, still patient, still  _so_ sweet. 

She took a deep breath, and knelt down in front of him.  _No time to be flustered._ Be it Ladybug, Tikki, or her own consciousness speaking in her head, she knew what she had to do _Give him the truth, Marinette._

“It…  _is_ true.” She swallowed. “I  _do_ have a small crush on you, Adrien. I sort of have for a while, actually.”

He stared up at her, eyes wide.

“But,” she did her best to put on a smile. “That's not why I'm sticking around. You're my friend  _before_ any of those feelings come into the equation, Adrien. I wouldn’t be driven away from  _being_ your friend by rumours alone. I know we’re only friends through Alya and Nino, but you  _do_ mean a lot to me, even if I didn't have the crush. All my friends matter to me, and that includes you.” She tried to stay focused on what she was saying, but he  _had_ to stop looking at her like she had offered him the chance to become Chat Noir and get away from the chaos of real life. 

“So, uh,” she continued. “If you don’t mind me being a bit awkward or getting flustered from time-to-time _because_ of those feelings, then… I’d like to become closer friends with you.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “If it’s alright with you.”

“Yeah.” He breathed, before laughing. “Yeah, that would… be great.  _Really_ great. I…” He looked at her, and his eyes were  _shining._ “Thank-you, Mari.”

_Since when did he adopt that nickname as well? Oh, well, it’s not like it's hurting anybody when he says it._

“Say, Mari?”

“Yeah?”

“Could, uh, could you close your eyes for a second?”

Nothing clicked into her head as a means of explaining this sudden request, and she tilted her head. “Why?”

“…Please?”

The pout he gave her should have been branded  _illegal._ She sighed, before closing her eyes. “Okay, they’re closed now. So what was it that you wanted–”

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt something warm put pressure against her cheek, albeit only briefly.

She snapped her eyes open and clapped a hand to her cheek. He was  _grinning,_ damn him, mischievous and cunning. It reminded her of… no, no, that was impossible. 

Actually, it was more that she couldn’t draw up blatant similarities, but instead because  _Adrien Agreste had just kissed her cheek and she wanted to scream._

“Wh-what…?” 

Then, he  _winked._

“Think of it as a little thank-you, for everything you said to me tonight..” He poked her nose, before standing up, going back into the main room. “Good night, Mari.”

“…Good night…”

She barely managed to get up off of the kitchen floor, her face on fire.

 _…Great._ She sighed as she settled back into the sofa.  _Now I’m never going to get to sleep._

She glanced over at Adrien.

_Well, maybe I can let a little sleep slide for one night. It’s not like my head won’t be filled with thoughts any different, after all._


End file.
